JOURNAL OF SOVIET AMBASSADOR IN THE DPRK A.M. PUZANOV FOR 16 AUGUST 1960

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In a conversation with political seniors in Soviet Union and North Korea, A.M. Puzanov informs Kim Il Sung that Soviet government accepted his offer to have mutual deliveries of goods during 1961 to 1965. Kim Il Sung speaks his opinion in irrigation system control and inter-Korean relations.

"Journal of Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK A.M. Puzanov for 16 August 1960," August 16, 1960, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, AVPRF fond 0102, opis 16, delo 7, p.43-71. Translated for NKIDP by Gary Goldberg. http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/119446

Kim Il Sung held a lunch at the Chansuwan dacha at which the following were present: from the Soviet side, the Ambassador and his wife, V. I. Pelishenko, N. Ye. Torbenkov and his wife, V. A. Zharkov, Trade Representative I. A. Gladkov and his wife, A. I. Mal'chevsky (M. F. Botsin flew to Moscow on the morning of the 16th); from the Korean side, Kim Il Sung and his wife, Choe Yong-geon and his wife, Kim Il and his wife, Pak Seong-cheol and his wife, and MFA interpreter Choe Won-sik. The lunch went in a warm, comradely atmosphere. We were at the dacha for more than four hours.

During a conversation I told Kim Il Sung and those present, Choe Yong-geon, Kim Chang-man, Pak Geum-cheol, Pak Jeong-ae, and Nam Il about the wide-scale celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Liberation in the Soviet Union and about the materials placed in the Soviet press.

Kim Il Sung expressed gratitude for the information and said that "this is very good".

I also told Kim Il Sung that the Soviet government had accepted the DPRK government offer which he had expressed in a conversation with me on 24 July regarding the conclusion of an agreement about mutual deliveries of goods between the USSR and DPRK between 1961 and 1965 and that they are ready in Moscow to receive a DPRK government delegation in the second half of September to hold talks and conclude the agreement itself.

Kim Il Sung expressed gratitude and said that the delegation would be headed by Deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign Trade Ri Ju-yeon.

Later in the conversation Kim Il Sung said that a great deal of rain fell this year and at the present time the reservoirs of all the hydroelectric stations are completely full. In particular, there is so much water on the Yalu [Amnok-gang] River that a surplus of it in enormous quantities was thrown over the reserve sluices of the Supung Hydroelectric Station and there was even a danger of flooding Sinuiju. At the present time Pyongyang is receiving electricity without restrictions.

In reply to my question, how is the abundance of precipitation influencing the harvest of food crops, Kim Il Sung replied that there is no harmful influence on the harvest yet. The irrigation work has provided an opportunity to collect a considerable amount of precipitation in newly-built cisterns and to thereby avoid harmful consequences.

Regarding the situation in the South of Korea, Kim Il Sung said that the Americans, feeling they cannot hold out forever in South Korea and will have to leave after some time, are beginning to prepare for this: to infiltrate their people into the progressive parties and organizations to whom assignments are given to advance even leftist slogans, and then when necessary, for these people to direct the leadership of the progressive parties and organizations in a direction to the Americans' advantage.

Kim Il Sung said, representatives of the South Korean government are silent for the time being and do not express any objections to proposals stated about ways to peacefully reunite the country. The Japanese broadcast these proposals by radio.

The lunch passed in a warm, comradely atmosphere.

[…]

SOVIET AMBASSADOR IN THE DPRK [signature] (A. PUZANOV)

Five copies printed. at.

1st - Cde. A. A. Gromyko

2nd - Cde. Yu. V. Andropov

3rd - Cde. I. I. Tugarinov

4th - USSR MFA UVPI

5th - to file

Nº 414 24 August 1960

Document summary

In a conversation with political seniors in Soviet Union and North Korea, A.M. Puzanov informs Kim Il Sung that Soviet government accepted his offer to have mutual deliveries of goods during 1961 to 1965. Kim Il Sung speaks his opinion in irrigation system control and inter-Korean relations.

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